Justice Charles Mbogo said the decision of Nema to close down the Mara Ngenche Safari Camp, which is situated along the Mara River, was unreasonable and irrational.
Nema had in September 2020 ordered the camp to shut its operations after a viral video showed persons believed to be workers of the camp driving away a herd of wildebeest that was about to cross the river.
A court has quashed government's decision to close down a tourist camp that blocked the wildebeest migration between the Maasai Mara National Reserve and the Serengeti in Tanzania last year.
Justice Charles Mbogo said the decision of the National Environmental Management Authority (Nema) to close down the Mara Ngenche Safari Camp, which is situated along the Mara River, was unreasonable and irrational.
"The thread that comes out from this incident is that the camp was not given the chance to be heard before the closure announcement was made," said the judge.
Nema had in September 2020 ordered the camp to shut its operations after a viral video showed persons believed to be workers of the camp driving away a herd of wildebeest that was about to cross the river through the tented compound.
The environment regulator announced the decision following an inspection tour by its officials led by the board chairman John Konchella over alleged non-compliance with environmental requirements.
But Justice Mbogo quashed the decision after finding that although Nema has statutory mandate to carry out inspection such as the one that was done in the camp, no notice of the intended site visit was ever communicated to the camp.
He stated that there was nothing to show that Nema performed any of the functions listed under Section 129 (1) of EMCA so as to warrant an appeal by the Camp to the National Environment Tribunal.
"As it were, the actions taken by Nema on September 17, 2020 were not only procedurally unfair but were also unreasonable and irrational and contravened the Constitutional and Fair Administrative Action Act," said Justice Mbogo.
The court said it is apparent the decision making of Nema leading to the closure of the camp is wanting. Days before Nema made the decision the Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala had also ordered for the removal of the camp.
In urging court to uphold the the closure of the hotel, Nema's acting Director for Compliance and Enforcement Zephania Ouma stated that upon the change in course of the wildebeests the environment regulator conducted a site visit on September 17, 2020 which confirmed the presence of additional tents that had not been disclosed by the Mara Ngenche Safari Camp Limited.
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